I’m a big fan of Matt Damon movies. I’m not however a big fan of Matt Damon’s politics. But that’s OK with me. It’s a relationship that works well for both of us. He gets my money when I’m watching Bourne Identity or Ocean’s 11 and he uses that money and fame to find a bigger soapbox from which to spout comments that I usually ignore.
In the same respect, if you’re a fan of sports there are probably a couple players in the NFL or the NBA who you enjoy watching and are glad they are on your team, but you wouldn’t let them within a mile of your daughter. That’s OK too. Owners don’t pay them to be great sons in law. They’re paid to perform on the field of play. They can then take that money and fame and do whatever they want without involving you at all. You get entertained and they get multimillion dollar contracts and date women who are not your daughters. Everyone wins.
Not all arrangements work out that well. Sometimes what people get paid to do and what they spend their time doing are two different things. I was reminded of something about Barack Obama this week. When he wants to be, he can be very, very good. The president had a press conference with the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. That ten minute conference was outstanding. Although he did have prepared remarks, there was not a teleprompter in sight. While the notes were in front of him, it was obvious he was familiar with the goings on of both the game itself and the team, including Richard Sherman’s post game “conversation”, Russell Wilson’s new hair (or lack thereof) and the lengths to which Paul Allen might go to help his team win. I almost expected him to ask some of the players to come out to the south lawn to play a pickup game. Without a doubt, Barack Obama was very much in his element.
The thing that I was reminded about was the fact that Barack Obama is an incredible sports fan. ESPN even has the annual “Barack-etology” where the president fills out his bracket. The thing that one can’t escape is that Barack knows his basketball. He knows the players, he knows the coaches, the records and the streaks and all of it is done without notes.
Barack Obama was born to be an ESPN host. Unfortunately, however, that’s not what he gets paid for. He gets paid to be the President of the United States. And unlike Matt Damon and lots of players in the NFL and the NBA, he’s not very good at his job.
How does one know that Barack Obama is not very good at his job? Because he never knows what’s going on in the organization he’s paid to lead. Fast and Furious? The president heard about it on the news. The IRS Tea Party targeting scandal? The president heard about it on the news. The DOJ AP snooping scandal? The president heard about it on the news. The VA scandal resulting in the deaths of dozens of veterans? The president heard about it on the news. He must have forgotten about this one as he campaigned on it in 2007 and was formally informed about it by the Bush Administration in 2008.
Then of course there is Benghazi where no one has a clue where the president was while the whole thing was going on… but we know he wasn’t in the Situation Room. And Obamacare where the president either lied or didn’t have a clue about the program when he promised Americans they would get lower healthcare costs, they could keep their doctors and they could keep their insurance.
So my question is, is anyone besides me upset that Barack Obama, the guy who is paid to be President of the United States seems to know practically nothing about anything that goes on in his administration until he reads about it on the news, but he could fill in for Colin Coward at the drop of a hat if the ESPN host got hit by a truck? Does it bother anyone else that Barack Obama, the most powerful man in the world seems far more engaged in discussing the potential outcomes of a basketball tournament than he does discussing the outcomes of his disastrous policies? Is it a problem for anyone else that Barack Obama seems more comfortable on a golf course than he does actually running the affairs of the nation?
Sports is a very much an honorable business to be in. As a matter of fact, as a conservative I love the sports business because it is one of the few places left in the economy where hard work, achievement and success are rewarded largely based on merit and without the cancerous concerns of political correctness. As such, I’d like to suggest that Barack Obama leave the White House and begin a new career at ESPN. Americans would be better off as the Biden would fumble the implementation of Obama’s crippling policies and sports fans would have the benefit of a great communicator who knows sports like the back of his hand. That sounds like a win-win for everyone involved…
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When I lived in So Cal I was an ice skater.
As a child I met and was taught by members of the 1956 speed skating team at my rink where they trained.
On their way to the Olympics their plane crashed and they were all killed.
The rink put up a lovely memorial to them.
I speed skated thinking of them all through college.
So, I also became an Ice hockey fan.
I went to games before the goalies even had helmets, much less masks!
When Los Angeles got the Kings I went to a lot of their games.
It was great to see them beat the rest a couple years ago to finally become Stanley Cup champions.
But Obama is not known for going to Blackhawk games.
They won last year and he became president braggart.
He hasn’t even called for them to ”change their name!”
But this week I’ve been watching those two teams play each other leading up to the Stanley Cup.
The two styles of play are stunning in their contrasts.
Chicago plays thug-like hockey.
No Lady Bing Trophy will ever come their way! (Sportsman conduct trophy)
The Blackhawks get flustered while the Kings keep composed.
That affects their play in negative ways.
The Kings have been winning by pretty amazing margins considering Chicago is the 1st highest value team and the Kings are 10th.
The next game is Wed.
Kings lead 3-1 in the series and could win to face the NYRangers anytime in the next 3 games.
As to Obama as a President instead of a vicarious front-row sitter who his poor constituents can live through, he needs to apply himself to getting back our soldier who is stuck in Mexico for no good reason.
Has anyone ever told him we don’t leave our men behind?
Damon was the founder of H2O Africa Foundation, the charitable arm of the Running the Sahara expedition,[21][70] which merged with WaterPartners to create Water.org in July 2009.[71] He, along with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle, David Pressman, and Jerry Weintraub, is one of the founders of Not On Our Watch Project, an organization that focuses global attention and resources to stop and prevent mass atrocities such as in Darfur.[72] Damon supports the ONE Campaign, which is aimed at fighting AIDS and poverty in Third World countries. He has appeared in their print and television advertising. Damon is also an ambassador for OneXOne, a non-profit foundation committed to supporting, preserving and improving the lives of children at home in Canada, the United States, and around the world.[73] Damon is also a spokesperson for Feeding America, the largest USA-focused hunger-relief organization, and a member of their Entertainment Council, participating in their Ad Council PSAs.
Damon is a board member of Tonic Mailstopper (formerly GreenDimes), a company that attempts to halt junk mail delivered to American homes each day.[74] Appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show on April 20, 2007, Damon promoted the organization’s efforts to prevent the trees used for junk mail letters and envelopes from being chopped down. Damon stated: “For an estimated dime a day they can stop 70 percent of the junk mail that comes to your house. It’s very simple, easy to do, great gift to give, I’ve actually signed up my entire family. It was a gift given to me this past holiday season and I was so impressed that I’m now on the board of the company.”[75]
In 2011, the documentary which he narrated, American Teacher, opened in New York prior to national screening.[76
From wikipedia
This is where some of your movie ticket money goes.
Glad you articulated what I have long thought about Obama – that he is better suited to being an ESPN host, or guest, than being president. It is said he blocks out time for ESPN in his daily schedule and he is not to be bothered when SportsCenter is on.
RE: Nanny G: “But Obama is not known for going to Blackhawk games. They won last year and he became president braggart. He hasn’t even called for them to ”change their name!”
Ohhhhhh. Very good point. I can’t imagine that President Obama is a hockey fan.
RE: Nanny G: “Chicago plays thug-like hockey.”
I wouldn’t say “thug-like”. Hockey is a fast-paced game, and Chicago has a style that combines speed with physical play. Hockey is not a game for the stupid thugs: you have to think fast to play the game. Chicago is well-coached and rarely makes mistakes. And it is certainly a game for tough guys. Except for the Montreal Canadiens — otherwise known as the “Montreal Diving Team” — who fall down at the slightest hint of contact, usually with arms and legs flying in all directions like cowardly actors in an English football game. Montreal plays hockey like ballet dancers, and they’ve been using their acting skills to get calls for years.
[Well, that may not be a fair comparison. Ballet dancers are pretty tough; they battle through serious pain and injury; and they don’t try to cheat like Montreal. So, in fairness, the average ballet dancer probably has more guts and integrity than pretty much anyone on Montreal’s team.]
As a Bruins fan who still remembers losing the cup to the Blackhawks, I’m not a Chicago fan. But I do admit that they have a good team, they play the game well, and whoever wins in the west, I hope they humiliate the winner in the east.
@kevino: I tend to agree that some of the less rough teams have actors who try to get calls for the slightest contact.
I’ve watched professional hockey all my adult life.
But in watching the Kings/Blackhawks series the difference in play is amazing.
Both teams have some really talented players.
The Kings, however, seem to keep composed all the time.
They have a few high-contact players, and use them as if by pre-ordained plan.
The Blackhawks lose their composure when they get too far behind.
I am wondering if they will start their 2nd goaltender rather than Crawford.
He allowed way too many goals from the Kings.
When the Blackhawks lose their composure they flail.
They commit cheap penalties only making matters worse for themselves.
RE: Nanny G: “The Kings, however, seem to keep composed all the time.”
I agree. The Kings are scary good. I think it was the third goal last night where the guy was positioned right in front of the net, the defender lost him for a second or two, the Kings player from the wing just ripped the pass/shot went past the defenseman in a blink of an eye, and the forward scored. Pretty awesome.
The champion Blackhawks look like the Ducks — dead ducks. The Kings have left people shell-shocked this year.
RE: “I am wondering if they will start their 2nd goaltender rather than Crawford.”
I agree. Crawford has let in couple that he had a clear look at and should have stopped. And he’s allowed juicy rebounds that the Kings have cashed.
@Nanny G: I don’t know about the Hawks being thugs. Being a Hawk fan, one of my main criticisms is that they let the other teams knock them around and don’t hit back enough. Hopefully they’ll come back as they have in the past and make it two championships in a row which is hard for any sports team to do. You have to feel sorry for Chicago sports fans. It is home to the Cubs. Think about everything that has happened since they last won a World Series. It’s quite amazing. People were still using outhouses!
@kevino:
I just watched the Rangers/Canadians game.
In person out of all the years I’ve been going to hockey games (even before the Kings existed) I have never seen a penalty for ”embellishment.”
But you were right.
The Canadians do some acting.
Some of it bad enough to be called for that penalty.
In that one game they got called for it twice!
Their ”winning” goalie allowed 4 goals.
Jonathon Quick usually only allows 2 or fewer goals.
So, I’m not too worried.
As the the Rangers, they are scrappy.
I hope, if they make it against the Kings (two ”ifs’) that the Kings are tough enough to take all that fighting.
As an entrepreneur and CEO or senior manager of, . . . well, just about any business, who the hell has time to watch so much basketball and football? This President is not taking his job seriously enough. But we knew that before he got to the W.H. — that’s what Jarrett is for.
Vince, this is a good article, but I kept expecting a punch line and an excuse to break out laughing. Unfortunately, the reasons to laugh are becoming fewer and fewer. A president who is preoccupied with sports and all the players, obviously doesn’t have time to do his job, but the country didn’t elect Jarret.
I have a small business that is physically demanding and requires being on the road. When I am working at full capacity, I can barely make through dinner without falling asleep. Learning the different teams and players and spending hours watching games seems like a bunch of academic nonsense for people with too much time on their hands; yet, our president has more than enough time to become familiar with several different sports disciplines, but not enough time to inquire about the death panels in our VA hospitals.
For the first time in my life, I am ashamed to be an American; not because our president is a sports fan, but because he has the audacity and arrogance to sit on his ass watching sports while our heroes we asked so much from are dying and expecting treatment.
No one who is rational will argue that our president is overworked, but no one in the world expected him to be so callous with the lives of our veterans. I am ashamed to be called an American because of this pathetic excuse of a man who occupies the White House.
kevino
THE KINGS are breaking legs, not playing hokey,
THE CANADIANS are playing Hokey like the pros who won the OLYMPIC IN RUSSIA,
games that you never forget, instead of injurys you never heal from it,
inflicted by THE KINGS,
which are known by the CANADIANS, as thugs, NOT HOKEY PLAYERS,
@Skookum:
He also likes to do the talk show circuit. A true celebrity. Shades of Nero perhaps?
@Nanny G: Just curious, Nanny G, why do you refer to him as ” our soldier”?
What is his actual military situation?
HE FAVOR THE ASSAD’S REBELS,
and said he will send some military to help them, he did not learn yet,
from the previous failures of helping the rebels, THE CITIZENS DO NOT ALL KNOW THAT,BUT OBAMA HE KNOWS,FIRST HAND,
HE HAS THE SOURCES COMMING TO HIM, THERE IS NO WAY TO DENY IT, HE ALSO HATE ASSAD WHO REFUSE TO RESIGN,WHEN HE WAS TOLD TO,
I too am sick and tired to see the dead and woundeds come back from those middle east
backward COUNTRIES fighting like underground snakes ,
AND FEEDING ON THE ORGANS OF THEIR PRISONERS,
WHEN THIS SIDE HAS NO MATCHING WEAPONS, to exterminate those IEDS,
it put bad thoughts in the people’s mind,
LIKE: it is some of his wishes to have as much AMERICANS DIE, OR CRIPPLE,
ah , don’t give me that outrage look, I SAID IT PUT THAT THOUGHT, AND IF IT DOES ,
there is a factor that trigger that thought,
EQUALIZE THAT THOUGHT WITH HIS ABORTION ORGANIZATION HE PAY MANY MILLIONS FOR,
and you have the recipy to weaken a NATION by eliminating on both sides of extermination,
and taking away the warriors who can never fight their brother citizens,
only those foreigners who have found job in the power positions could fight the citizens by order
from OBAMA, BECAUSE THEY DON’T HAVE THE BOND AND ALLEGIANCE TO THIS AMERICA, THEY ONLY ARE A FEW YEARS
NOT ENOUGH TO GROW A DEEP BOND
and would certainly use their job to put their weight on the people,
WELL IT HAS ALREADY BEGUN,
@Nanny G: As a man who saw Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio, and Terry Sawchuck play at the old Olympia stadium in Detroit…before the liberals destroyed the city…I completely agree.
The playoff favor teams with one strong line.
The LA Kings are tied with the Blackhawks and going into Sudden-Death Overtime.
All the commercial breaks let the Blackhawks one strong line rest.
The Kings have four fairly equal lines and have advanced this far because their lines could tire out the one strong line of so many other teams.
I fear this will be their last period of play this season.
But, had the playoffs not added in commercial timeouts every four minutes they would have won.
Obama will be happy whether it is NY or Chicago that wins.
Edited after the game:
The Sudden-Death period was played WITHOUT extra commercial timeouts!
(Much to my surprise.)
So….
The kings were able to tucker out the Blackhawks lead line.
And the kings won!
@Nanny G: Blackhawks? is that birds or Indians? Isn’t that racist, or something? Has Obama started a movement against them? What’s he waiting for?
@Redteam: Blackhawks use an Indian’s face with warpaint and feathered head dress.
See it: http://content.sportslogos.net/logos/1/7/full/56.gif
Why there has been no movement to force them to change their name (in Chicago of all places) is beyond my understanding of PC issues.
@Nanny G</Kinda like the Redskins, except saying Black instead of Red seems even more racist. (I'm just kidding)